Author Archives: sara

The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute is pleased to congratulate Dr Catherine Wilder on her success in the recent call for Fast Track grants. Competing against many strong applications, Dr Wilder’s project ‘Gasdermin D – a novel target for dual protection against acute and chronic effects of cardiac ischaemia and reperfusion injury in human myocardium?’ was awarded £39,640.

Dr Wilder will use these funds to continue her research in this emerging area of cardiovascular science over the next year with the aim of producing strong pilot data to enable a further application to an external funder for a larger, more strategic award.

The Fast Track scheme is a collaboration between the NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre and the UCLH Charity.

Congratulations Dr Wilder!

Initiated in 2015, the ERIC-PPCI study was a multicentre, randomised double blind placebo controlled clinical trial investigating whether remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) can reduce cardiac death and hospitalization for heart failure at 12 months in patients presenting with a ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and treated by percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). The study was undertaken in collaboration with the CONDI2 trial (Denmark, Serbia and Spain) and recruited 5401 patients in total, across 33 centres.

Importantly this landmark study has revealed the RIC procedure has a neutral outcome for the patients enrolled.

The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute has led the study from inception with Prof Derek Yellon and Prof Derek Hausenloy as Principal Investigators together with Prof Erik Bøtker from Denmark and Prof Raj Kharbanda from Oxford.  This study represents a true translational investigation as the basic scientific research began in the laboratories of the Hatter Cardiovascular Institute, through to “proof of concept” at University College London Hospitals and finally resulting in this large scale, clinical study in man.

While the outcome has shown a neutral effect, this is a definitive answer to the question driving the study, the ultimate goal for all scientific research we undertake. From this result we are now able to formulate new hypotheses and look forward to understanding survival pathways and cellular mechanisms in humans. For example, the patients in the CONDI2/ERIC – PPCI study were from developed nations, namely the UK and Europe, typically on a regimen of medications which raise the threshold of protection alone. It may be that developing countries, with limited access to medical care and medications, are a more appropriate target for RIC in a STEMI setting. This outcome is important and discussions are already underway as to how to take this forward.

The PI’s of the study are grateful to all the patients who participated, the study team and the British Heart Foundation for their substantial support.

The full report of the study has been published in the Lancet, please read the paper HERE.

The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute is pleased to present a report of our research activities over the past year, from September 2018 to August 2019.

Please view the summary HERE.

The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute has been the successful recipient of a £300,000 grant from the British Heart Foundation. Awarded to Prof Derek Yellon and Prof Sean Davidson, this funding will be used to support a new Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the area of Cardioprotection, recruitment to begin shortly.

The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute was sad to say goodbye this week to Concepción Santiago, a Ph.D. student visiting from the Institute of Biomedical Research in Málaga, Spain, from the laboratory of Dr Edwardo Garcia Fuentes. Concepción was here for three months working under the supervision of Prof Sean Davidson on the question of how age and senescence affects exosomal nanoparticles. During her time with us she became one of the team and her collaborative work has been beneficial to the research here at the HCI. We wish her all the best in her continued studies towards achieving her Ph.D.

The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute (HCI) is very pleased to announce the promotion of Sean Davidson, PhD to Professorial Research Fellow as part of the UCL 2018-19 Promotions. A member of the Department of Pre-clinical and Fundamental Science, Sean is one of only two members of the Faculty of Population Health Sciences to receive this promotion. This promotion marks the 7^th Professor to be produced by the Hatter Cardiovascular Institute since its inception.

Prof Davidson started with working with Professor Yellon at the HCI in 2001 as a postdoctoral fellow and has since proven to be an invaluable member of our team. Prof Davidson’s research foundation began in cardiac protection and mitochondrial pathophysiology but has since evolved to now specifically investigate the role of exosomes in cardioprotection.  In addition, Prof Davidson supervises a continuous cohort of MSc and PhD students. His strong collaborations have enriched the Hatter Cardiovascular Institute and include both industry and academic relationships both nationally and worldwide.

The HCI wishes Prof Davidson many congratulations on his new role.

The Cardiology, Diabetes & Nephrology at the Limits series will host its first international meeting in South America on 12^th -13^th July at the University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. This expansion to South America is exciting as we further engage the clinical and research community in Brazil and surrounding countries. This meeting is a collaboration between the Hatter Cardiovascular Institute UCL, the University of Cape Town, Harvard Medical School, the Lancet and the University of Campinas. It is also endorsed by the UCL Vice Provost (International), Dame Nicola Brewer.

The programme for the meeting in Brazil can be read here CDNATL BRAZIL 2019 PROGRAMME.

The “At the Limits” series is now active in Europe, Africa and South America, a remarkable achievement which indicates the ongoing educational programme of the Hatter Cardiovascular Institute.

For over 20 years the “At the Limits” meetings have been active in cultivating knowledge and collaborations in the field of cardiology, diabetes and nephrology. We have been fortunate enough to attract esteemed speakers and recognised leaders in their fields. For your interest please see links below.

A review of the Hatter Award Annual Lectures can be read here HATTER AWARD LECTURES.

A review of the Hatter Pre-Dinner Speakers can be read here PRE DINNER SPEAKERS.

Over the last three weeks 2 postgraduate students from The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute have successfully defended their PhD thesis. These included:

* Dr Idris Harding – “Determinants of Reperfusion Injury in the Diabetic Heart”

* Ms Stasa Taferner – “Elucidating the role of CXCR7 in the cardiovascular system and its involvement in cardioprotection after myocardial infarction”

The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute is pleased to support such strong and valuable research and wish Dr Harding and Dr Tafemer many congratulations on an excellent thesis.

Dr Ashraf Hamarnef will defend his MD(Res) thesis in just over a month’s time, entitled “The effect of remote ischaemic conditioning and glyceryl trinitrate on perioperative myocardial injury in cardiac bypass surgery patients.”

Over the past 12 months, the Hatter Cardiovascular Institute has had 5 PhD and 3 MD(Res) students receive their respective degrees.

The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute hosted a meeting of leading cardiologists, nephrologists and diabetologists to discuss the developing potential of SGLT2 inhibitors. Chaired by Professor Derek Yellon and Professor John Cunningham, a well-rounded programme outlined the current perspectives from each specialty and generated much discussion on next steps to using SGLT2 inhibitors to realise patient benefit. Overall, attendees found the meeting beneficial and collegiate, highlighting new research pathways to develop. The organisers would like to thank the industry sponsors for supporting this important meeting.

Kaloyan Takov was recognised with an ‘Outstanding Poster Presentation’ award at the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) meeting held recently in Kyoto, Japan. Chosen from 400 abstracts, he was awarded one of the nine distinguished prizes. Takov, who is completing his PhD under the supervision of Dr Sean Davidson and Prof Derek Yellon at the Hatter Cardiovascular Institute, presented his poster entitled “Cardioprotective and proangiogenic potential of small extracellular vesicles secreted from amniotic fluid stem cells” which highlighted his research over the past 3 years in this emerging field.

The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles is the premier international conference of extracellular vesicle research, covering the latest in exosomes, microvesicles and more. The conference drew 1,000 attendees and featured presentations from the top researchers in the field, while also providing opportunities for students and early career researchers to showcase their work.

READ THE ABSTRACT – PS03.09, P.304